Shirt
A woman’s warp-predominant, plain-weave huipil made from handspun cotton and decorated with surface-float/ back-float brocaded. The brocade is woven with red, two shades of yellow, and black handspun wool, as well as orange, green, black and pink commercial wool. The huipil is composed of three sections which have been hand stitched together. Most of the seams are joined by overcasting with red cotton thread, except for a few inches along the proper left side seam which are joined by ancient stitches in green wool thread. This huipil has a distinct set of brocade designs on each panel. Ech’ (Bromeliad), a sacred flower in Magdalenas, is brocaded around the square neck opening of the huipil. Beginning at the bottom of the chest and moving toward the yoke, the brocade includes rows of the lukol (squiggly), xpokok (toad), lukol, k’anal (stars), lukol, kupom te’ (leaning tree), ch’ix (spines), jochbil (decomposed), and be chon (path of snakes) designs. Above these rows, the yoke is covered by 24 rows of the muk’ta luch (Grand Design) flanked by a row of alternating sun and butterfly designs (pepen) along the proper right and left sides. These muk’ta luch rows wrap over the shoulder and cover the back of the yoke as well. Each grand design is a rhomboid with a smaller diamond at its center and an even smaller diamond at each corner. The inner diamond has a line that connects it to the upper and lower diamonds, and has two curls extending to the other two sides. A yellow line is brocaded across the 9th row of muk’ta luch on both the front and back, as well as across the 13ths row of diamonds which lays atop the shoulders. A thin strip of red brocade with yellow dots zig zags between the 5th and 6th rows on the front of the huipil. Below the block of grand design on the back of the central web are rows of the be chon (path of snake), jochbil , ch’ix, kupom te’, lukol, santo (saint) with nichim (flower) design on each end of the row, lukol, and xpokok designs. The proper left sleeve of the huipil is brocaded with rows of the xpokok, santo xchi uk xpokok (saint with toad), 2 rows of nichim, k’anal, three rows of nichim, k’anal, nichim, kurus (cross), nichim, k’anal, 2 rows of nichim, santo, santo xchi uk xpokok, santo and sk’ob luch (sleeve weave). Below the main body of designs on the proper left sleeve, an isolated sjol totik (“Head of Our Father”) design is brocaded. The right sleeve is brocaded with rows of xpoko, santo nichim, k’anal with sk’ob luch, sk’ob luch, santos and xpokok designs.
Details
Catalog Number: A79:1:18
Object Name: Shirt
Artist/Maker:
- Artist: Abrila
Dimensions:
- Length: 87.0 cm
- Width: 105.0 cm
World Region: North America
Culture Area: Mesoamerica
Date Made: 1955